MOONTON Games, commonly referred to as Moonton, is a Chinese-founded global video game developer and publisher best known for creating Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), one of the world’s most prominent mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) titles. Established in 2014, the company has grown from a relatively small studio in Shanghai into an international gaming and esports enterprise with operations across Asia and other regions.

As of August 2026, MOONTON describes itself as a global company focused on game development, publishing, and esports, employing more than 2,000 people with offices in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Latin America.[3][4]

Note: The official English branding is MOONTON Games. “Moonton” and “MOONTON” are commonly used as shorter forms of the company name.

The company states that it was established in 2014 and has built relationships with governments and esports organizations in more than 30 countries.

Foundation (2014)

MOONTON was established in 2014 in Shanghai, China. From its inception, the company pursued an international strategy, concentrating on developing and publishing games for audiences outside mainland China. Its early business was not initially dominated by Mobile Legends; one of its first internationally released titles was Magic Rush: Heroes, which launched globally in 2015 and achieved significant distribution overseas. This international orientation became a defining characteristic of the company, as MOONTON invested heavily in Southeast Asia and other overseas markets rather than focusing primarily on China’s domestic market.

Rise of Mobile Legends

MOONTON’s transformation into a major global gaming company was driven by Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Launched globally in 2016, the game became particularly successful in Southeast Asia. It is a 5v5 mobile MOBA in which two teams compete on a battlefield while controlling individual heroes with distinct abilities and roles. MLBB’s success was significant because it was designed around the realities of mobile gaming: relatively short matches, touch controls, accessible hardware requirements, and a strong emphasis on multiplayer competition.

By 2018, the game had surpassed 200 million registered accounts. By 2021, MLBB had surpassed 1 billion registered accounts, further establishing it as MOONTON’s flagship intellectual property. Today, MOONTON reports that MLBB has accumulated more than 1.5 billion installations and has more than 110 million monthly active users. The company also states that the game ranks among the top 10 most-played games in more than 80 countries.

Esports is arguably the second major pillar of MOONTON’s business after game development. The company began developing a formal competitive ecosystem around MLBB in 2017, which eventually developed into a large network of professional leagues, regional competitions, and international tournaments.

Mobile Legends Professional League

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) became the company’s flagship domestic and regional professional competition. MPL was initially launched in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in 2017 and subsequently expanded to markets including the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Brazil. The league system helped transform MLBB from a mobile game into an organized competitive ecosystem involving professional teams, players, coaches, broadcasters, tournament organizers, sponsors, content creators, local esports organizations, and international competitions. This regional strategy was especially successful in Southeast Asia.

International tournaments

MOONTON subsequently developed major international MLBB tournaments, including:

• MSC — Mid Season Cup
• M-Series World Championship
• MWI — MLBB Women’s Invitational / International
• MPL regional leagues
• MLBB esports events at the Southeast Asian Games
• MLBB competitions at the Esports World Cup

The first MLBB World Championship, M1, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2019, with sixteen teams from 14 countries participating. MLBB also became a medal event at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, an important milestone that gave a commercial mobile game recognition within a major international multi-sport event.

One of the most distinctive aspects of MOONTON is its relationship with Southeast Asia. While the company is Chinese-founded and headquartered in Shanghai, MLBB developed an enormous cultural and commercial presence in countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The company established regional operations and professional leagues in these markets rather than treating them simply as export markets for a Chinese game. This has made MLBB particularly important to the Southeast Asian esports industry, with MOONTON’s own history recording the establishment of MPL leagues across the region beginning in 2017.

In Malaysia specifically, MOONTON has developed a long-running MPL ecosystem and continues to work with the Malaysia Esports Federation and Esports Integrated. In 2026, the three organizations announced a new partnership structure for MPL Malaysia involving eight participating teams.

A major turning point came in 2021, when ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, agreed to acquire MOONTON through its gaming business. Reuters reported that ByteDance’s gaming unit Nuverse agreed to acquire Shanghai-based Moonton Technology in March 2021, with sources estimating the transaction’s value at approximately US$4 billion. MOONTON continued to operate independently after the acquisition rather than becoming a conventional internal game studio of ByteDance. The acquisition was strategically significant for ByteDance because it provided the company with a major global mobile game and an established esports ecosystem.

Although MLBB remains MOONTON’s flagship product, the company has increasingly attempted to diversify its portfolio. Its current game portfolio includes:

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

The company’s flagship 5v5 MOBA and by far its most important intellectual property.

Magic Rush: Heroes

An earlier strategy/RPG/tower-defense title that helped establish MOONTON’s international publishing strategy.

Mobile Legends: Adventure

An idle RPG spin-off based on the MLBB universe.

Watcher of Realms

A fantasy RPG developed and published as part of MOONTON’s broader international portfolio.

Magic Chess: Go Go

An auto-chess/strategy game derived from the Magic Chess concept associated with MLBB. Its APAC launch took place in 2025.

Silver and Blood

A gothic fantasy vampire RPG launched globally in June 2025.

ACECRAFT

A hand-drawn cooperative vertical shooter launched globally in August 2025.

This diversification is important because MOONTON is increasingly positioning itself as a multi-game publisher rather than a company dependent exclusively on MLBB.

MLBB’s international success preceded its official mainland-China launch by many years. The game officially launched in mainland China in January 2025 under its Chinese-market identity. MOONTON describes this as its entry into one of the world’s largest gaming markets. This represented a major milestone because MLBB had already become an internationally established game before entering its developer’s home market.

MOONTON has expanded MLBB’s international esports ambitions beyond Southeast Asia. In 2024, MLBB was selected as a game for the inaugural Esports World Cup. MOONTON subsequently expanded its partnership with the event and developed larger international formats for MSC and MWI. In 2026, MOONTON announced a substantially expanded MSC format. The MSC at the 2026 Esports World Cup features a 25-team championship, while the Wild Card expanded to 10 teams. The company’s strategy is increasingly to transform MLBB from a Southeast Asian esports phenomenon into a genuinely global competitive discipline.

Another important development is MLBB’s participation in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. MLBB was selected as an esports medal event for the 2026 Asian Games, with national teams from across Asia participating in the qualification process. This represents an important step in the legitimization of mobile esports within traditional sporting institutions.

In March 2026, ByteDance agreed to sell MOONTON to Savvy Games Group, a Saudi Arabian gaming company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).[1][2][5] Reuters reported that the transaction was agreed at a value estimated by insiders to be more than US$6 billion, although financial terms were not officially disclosed. Therefore, descriptions stating that “MOONTON is owned by ByteDance” are now outdated. As of August 2026, the company continues operating under the MOONTON Games identity and remains focused on its existing games and esports ecosystem. Its current official website continues to describe the company as an international gaming developer, publisher, and esports organization.

MOONTON’s business can broadly be divided into three areas:

1. Game development

The company develops mobile games and intellectual properties, particularly multiplayer and live-service titles.

2. Game publishing

MOONTON distributes and operates games internationally, with particular expertise in Asian and emerging markets.

3. Esports

The company operates tournaments and leagues surrounding its games, particularly MLBB. Rather than treating esports merely as marketing for a game, MOONTON has built an ecosystem around professional competition, regional leagues, media rights, events, and international tournaments.

Several factors explain the company’s rise:

• Mobile-first strategy: MOONTON concentrated on smartphones at a time when mobile gaming was rapidly becoming the dominant gaming platform across Southeast Asia.
• Strong Southeast Asian localization: The company invested heavily in regional operations, leagues, and partnerships instead of treating Southeast Asia as a single market.
• Free-to-play model: MLBB can be downloaded and played without an upfront purchase, allowing it to reach a very large audience.
• Short competitive matches: MLBB’s match structure is suited to mobile users and allows players to participate without the time commitment associated with many PC or console competitive games.
• Esports integration: Professional leagues helped create communities around the game and gave players a reason to remain engaged with it.
• Continuous live-service development: The company continually adds heroes, skins, events, collaborations, and gameplay updates, keeping the core game active.

MOONTON has faced controversy regarding intellectual property. The most prominent historical dispute involved Tencent and Riot Games, creators of League of Legends. Reuters reported that Tencent and Riot had pursued multiple legal actions against MOONTON since 2017 over allegations of copyright infringement. These disputes became part of the wider competitive landscape surrounding mobile MOBAs in China and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the enormous growth of MLBB demonstrates that these controversies did not prevent the game from becoming a major global mobile title.

MOONTON’s influence extends beyond conventional video-game publishing. MLBB has become particularly embedded in Southeast Asian popular culture and esports. Its professional leagues have helped create careers for players, coaches, commentators, streamers, and other esports professionals. The company also operates social-responsibility initiatives. Its official history cites scholarship programs for students studying gaming and esports, as well as initiatives focused on making esports more inclusive for people with disabilities.

As of August 2026, MOONTON can best be understood as a global mobile-gaming and esports company built around the MLBB ecosystem. Its position can be summarized as follows:

• Origin: Chinese gaming company founded in Shanghai
• Core product: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Strongest historical market: Southeast Asia
• Core competitive advantage: Mobile gaming + localization + esports
• Current portfolio: Multiple mobile games across MOBA, RPG, strategy, and shooter genres
• Global strategy: Expand MLBB and MOONTON’s other games beyond Southeast Asia
• Esports strategy: Build international leagues and championships
• 2021–2026 ownership: ByteDance
• 2026 onward: Savvy Games Group agreed to acquire the company from ByteDance[1][2][5]

MOONTON’s own current figures indicate 1.5+ billion MLBB installations, 110+ million monthly active users, and 2,000+ employees worldwide, illustrating the scale the company has reached since its founding in 2014.[3][4]

Official resources

• MOONTON Games — Official website
• MOONTON Games — About / History
• MOONTON Games — Game portfolio
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang — Official website

1. ByteDance to sell gaming unit Moonton to Saudi PIF-owned firm
2. Savvy Games Group
3. MOONTON GAMES | LinkedIn
4. MOONTON GAMES | LinkedIn
5. ByteDance exits gaming, Savvy Games Group acquires …